America's great business divide as the US election knocks on the door

Washington DC:

America is becoming increasingly divided along political lines as the 2024 presidential election approaches. While open and open disagreements in political ideology are not uncommon among citizens, especially in democracies and for the foreseeable future, another major divide has emerged in the run-up to the November elections: that of corporate America.

Tech giants, banking giants, major corporations and even regional and small businesses are on opposite sides of this political divide.

On November 5, US citizens will vote for their next president, between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump. The divide is clear: the 'liberal and left-wing' Kamala Harris versus the 'protectionist and right-wing' Donald Trump.

TECH-BHEMOTHS DIVIDED

Big tech has joined the cause and aligned itself with their chosen candidate. Employees from Microsoft, Google (Alphabet), Amazon and Sun Microsystems have donated millions of dollars to Kamala Harris' campaign, according to data made public by political watchdog OpenSecrets. Ms. Harris' campaign contribution is significantly larger than what was given to the Trump campaign.

However, tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg strongly support Donald Trump. The contributions they made directly to the Trump campaign are currently unavailable.

According to the CNN report, Meta CEO Zuckerberg has made public statements supporting right-wing “censorship” stories and praising Donald Trump for being a “badass.” He later claimed that he wanted to appear “neutral” and impartial.

The report also said Zuckerberg sent a letter to the powerful House Judiciary Committee, stating that the Biden administration had “pressured” Meta to “censor” the content.

“In 2021, senior Biden administration officials, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed significant frustration with our teams when we didn't agree with it,” Zuckerberg said.

The letter was immediately weaponized by Trump, who once again claimed that the 2020 election was stolen.

However, Elon Musk has been much more open in his support for Trump. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Musk had said in July that he personally donates $45 million every month to an organization called America PAC, which in turn manages Trump's campaign.

Another major venture capitalist who openly supports Donald Trump is Peter Theil.

Indian-American billionaire and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman are among those strongly backing Kamala Harris.

Election finance data shows that Sundar Pichai-led Google (Alphabet) and its subsidiaries donated $2.16 million to Kamala Harris. By comparison, the same companies donated much smaller amounts to the Trump campaign.

While Microsoft led by Satya Nadella donated $1.1 million to Kamala Harris' campaign, Amazon led by Jeff Bezos donated $1 million. By comparison, the same groups made much lower contributions to the Trump campaign: $88,000 from Microsoft and $116,000 from Amazon and their employees.

More than a hundred venture capitalists and major tech companies in Silicon Valley, which has historically been largely left-leaning, have backed Kamala Harris.

BANKING AND OIL GIANTS

Banks and crude oil companies appear to be leaning toward Trump, thanks to his promise of lower taxes and less regulation in these sectors. Even the US stock market reflected that sentiment as assassination attempts against the Republican leader took place.

According to a Bloomberg report, CEOs of oil giants are taking cues from Donald Trump to start drilling big because of Trump's love for oil. Trump has openly said he doesn't believe in climate change, calling it a “lie.” He has also said that he believes in coal and oil for energy because of the advantage the United States has in the sector. The ex-president has also been criticized by climate activists such as Greta Thunberg for his views on the issue.

“We have more liquid gold than anyone,” Trump had told Businessweek in July.

According to the Bloomberg report, bank executives see opportunities for more mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector, which will bring a compensation windfall. Capital markets hope to direct new dollars to pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and electricity transmission opportunities – and perhaps even a new commitment to nuclear energy infrastructure.

Bankers also believe that strict rules put in place under the Biden administration would be rolled back if Donald Trump were to do so. Some believe that the new banking rules proposed by the Biden administration will not even see the light of day.

Major banking giants and oil companies therefore support Donald Trump.

TRUMP vs. HARRIS – A LOOK AT THE BEST CONTRIBUTIONS

According to political finance analysts OpenSecrets, the following table shows companies and individuals that have made the largest financial contributions to the campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.